May 2016

TV:

Kei Nishikori and Fernando Verdasco square off in the third round of the 2016 French Open.

Kei Nishikori is coming off a straight sets win over Andrey Kuznetsov that took 27 games to decide. In the victory, Nishikori won 73 percent of his first serve points and 53 percent of his second serve points. Nishikori continues to play high level tennis, as he’s lost just 18 games in his first two matches and has won no less than 73 percent of his first serve points. Nishikori also has just 35 unforced errors in two matches and has lost no more than three games in five of his six sets. Nishikori is going to be a tough out if those numbers continue. Nishikori has made the fourth round of a grand slam in six of his last nine appearances.

USA TODAY Sports

Fernando Verdasco is coming off a straight sets win over Ivan Dodig that took 24 games to decide. In the victory, Verdasco won 77 percent of his first serve points and 73 percent of his second serve points. Verdasco has to be confident after simply dominating a top-80 player in which he lost just six games. Verdasco has racked up 75 winners in just six sets and had just 14 unforced errors in his last match. Verdasco is also getting no less than 73 percent of his first serves in play, which makes him very effective. Verdasco will have to play as clean if he hopes to pull off the upset here. Verdasco has not reached the fourth round of a grand slam since the 2014 French Open.

These two have met three times, and Verdasco leads the series, 2-1. The most recent match was in last years Indian Wells Masters, a match Nishikori won in three sets. Verdasco’s wins over Nishikori came in the 2012 Barcelona Open and 2011 Australian Open. This will be their second match on clay.

The head to head doesn’t mean much given the small sample size and the fact Nishikori is a far better player than he was four years ago. Overall, Nishikori is just a better players who is in better form and will continue to hit his spots. It’s going to be tough for Verdasco to keep up.

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